Ethanol continues to change the world' sugar industries!
Sugar Companies in Dominican Republic Begin Ethanol Project Biodiesel and Ethanol Investing: "DominicanToday.com reports that the Central Roman Corporation and the Vicini Group began a new project to develop ethanol plants using Dominican sugar cane as feedstock. Executives form the companies met with President Fernandez to talk about the new project. If approved, the project would provide the first fuel made from something other than petroleum in the Dominican Republic."
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
Bay Area Towns
Byron is smaller than Crockett but a great place to live.
Stuck in country time: Byron's rural roots are here to stayBy Barbara E. HernandezCONTRA COSTA TIMES
BYRON - Once a playground of Crockers, Spreckels and silent-film stars, this town of 960 people is best known as Contra Costa County's country corridor, where its rural residents reap what they sow.
"People who choose to live in Byron want a spot in their backyard. They want a horse and they don't want to have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions)," said local historian and seventh-generation Byron resident Kathy Leighton. "They want a rural lifestyle."
With big stretches of land, farmhouses ranging from Craftsman practicality to faux-Tuscan manors and residents comfortable with the scents of wineries, livestock and earth, Byron's bucolic setting is unlike the suburban communities of Brentwood and Discovery Bay that surround it. Barbed wire and chain-link fences surround homes, holding in dogs, goats, donkeys, horses and cattle.
"It's still very much a farming community with a dairy, vineyards and corn-packing sheds," said Contra Costa Supervisor Mary Piepho, whose district includes Byron.
Byron was known mainly for its historic Byron Hot Springs, a destination resort in the early part of the 20th century. The 160-acre salt springs were developed by Lewis Ridson Mead in 1865 as a spa resort, which stayed popular until they fell out of favor around 1950.
The property is now owned by East Bay Associates, which plans to develop the 160-acre site as a spa resort with a golf course, tennis courts, stables and a winery, said historian Carol Jensen.
The first hotel, built in 1878, the same year Byron was founded, burned to the ground in 1901. The second had a similar fate in 1912. By 1914, a brick structure was built that still stands today. The resort was used as an interrogation camp during World War II and closed shortly after.
But the key to Byron is not in its past, residents said.
"I think it's a prime spot for a wonderful little future," Leighton said.
Insiders' view
Although Byron and neighbor Discovery Bay share a ZIP code and school system, the two communities have what has been called a tense relationship.
Leighton said the Discovery Bay versus Byron feud is exaggerated. "We certainly have more in common than tearing us apart," she said. "It's imperative for the communities to get along."
Most of the problem stems from growth echoes in Byron, such as increased traffic and impacts on the school system.
"There is a feeling that Discovery Bay will come into what Byron has perceived as our land," she said.
With home building halting, that threat has diminished, Leighton said.
"I think the feeling from the county is that there was some error in judgment in Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley, so they see us as the perfect opportunity to take advantage of open space," Leighton, 60, said.
Piepho, a Discovery Bay resident whose husband is director of the Discovery Bay Community Services District, said Byron is "a very small community with limited potential."
Piepho said little infrastructure in the unincorporated community caused residents to rely on wells and an antiquated wastewater treatment facility that can't allow any more hookups. It will cost $2.3 million to build a new plant, a hard pill to swallow for fewer than 1,000 residents.
Nearby Discovery Bay has a modern sewer and water system that allowed growth, but past disagreements seem to make it impossible for the neighbors to work together.
Although some development could be possible near the Byron Airport, Piepho is pessimistic about the narrow line of buildings that make up Byron's downtown changing. Growth restrictions passed by a countywide vote have limited development and the urban limit line, she said.
Byron is the end of the proposed eBART line, a 24-mile $394 million rail line that follows Highway 4, for 2010. However, because of high costs and outdated estimates, the price is likely to be more than $1.3 billion. After cutting the project into two phases with the Oakley-Byron segment second, Byron still may get a stop on the line after 2010.
Rural living
Because Byron is unincorporated, it has few services and amenities. There are no fire hydrants, so several fires have destroyed the town's oldest buildings, and the town relies on the county for all public safety.
The nearest grocery stores and big-box retailers are in Brentwood, and the town's main drag, Highway 4, can alternate from speedway to traffic jam depending on the time of the commute.
And there will be a commute for most new residents. The average commute for Byron residents is about 30 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Housing stock
Housing stock is mostly older farmhouses with clapboard homes and small yards near downtown, as well as larger parcels with custom homes on the outskirts of Byron.
Richard Pontes, a real estate broker and owner of Realty World Delta Country for the past 20 years in Byron, said he makes most of his money selling homes outside town because of the low turnover.
"It's kind of a limited market," he said. "There's not a lot happening."
Pontes said that most people who come into his office are looking for an acre parcel with a house and are shocked to find the price is $650,000.
"They find out it's not cheap here anymore and it's difficult to find small parcels," he said. "There are $1.5 million homes going up on 5-acre parcels."
In a recent look at homes for sale, the least-expensive home was a 1,664-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home on 0.17 of an acre for $419,000. The highest price was $2.1 million for a 3,811-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath, three-story home on 35.54 acres.
Report card
Students in Byron attend public school in the Byron Union School District. On the Academic Performance Index Growth Report, students at Discovery Bay Elementary scored 767 and Timber Point Elementary scored 800 out of 1,000 points. Excelsior Middle School scored 739. Students attend high school at Liberty Union in Brentwood, where students scored 718.
Story Sources: Byron Union School District, state Department of Education, Realtor.com, Realty World Delta County and the U.S. Census Bureau
Barbara E. Hernandez covers real estate. Reach her at 925-952-5063 or bhernandez@cctimes.com.
HOME VALUES
1990 . . . $310,000
1995 . . . $254,000
2000 . . . $327,250
2005 . . . $610,000
2006 . . . $710,000
Source: DataQuick Information Systems, median sale price of detached, resale homes.
Some comments posted below may be reviewed before they are displayed, including submissions with hyperlinks
Stuck in country time: Byron's rural roots are here to stayBy Barbara E. HernandezCONTRA COSTA TIMES
BYRON - Once a playground of Crockers, Spreckels and silent-film stars, this town of 960 people is best known as Contra Costa County's country corridor, where its rural residents reap what they sow.
"People who choose to live in Byron want a spot in their backyard. They want a horse and they don't want to have CC&Rs (covenants, conditions and restrictions)," said local historian and seventh-generation Byron resident Kathy Leighton. "They want a rural lifestyle."
With big stretches of land, farmhouses ranging from Craftsman practicality to faux-Tuscan manors and residents comfortable with the scents of wineries, livestock and earth, Byron's bucolic setting is unlike the suburban communities of Brentwood and Discovery Bay that surround it. Barbed wire and chain-link fences surround homes, holding in dogs, goats, donkeys, horses and cattle.
"It's still very much a farming community with a dairy, vineyards and corn-packing sheds," said Contra Costa Supervisor Mary Piepho, whose district includes Byron.
Byron was known mainly for its historic Byron Hot Springs, a destination resort in the early part of the 20th century. The 160-acre salt springs were developed by Lewis Ridson Mead in 1865 as a spa resort, which stayed popular until they fell out of favor around 1950.
The property is now owned by East Bay Associates, which plans to develop the 160-acre site as a spa resort with a golf course, tennis courts, stables and a winery, said historian Carol Jensen.
The first hotel, built in 1878, the same year Byron was founded, burned to the ground in 1901. The second had a similar fate in 1912. By 1914, a brick structure was built that still stands today. The resort was used as an interrogation camp during World War II and closed shortly after.
But the key to Byron is not in its past, residents said.
"I think it's a prime spot for a wonderful little future," Leighton said.
Insiders' view
Although Byron and neighbor Discovery Bay share a ZIP code and school system, the two communities have what has been called a tense relationship.
Leighton said the Discovery Bay versus Byron feud is exaggerated. "We certainly have more in common than tearing us apart," she said. "It's imperative for the communities to get along."
Most of the problem stems from growth echoes in Byron, such as increased traffic and impacts on the school system.
"There is a feeling that Discovery Bay will come into what Byron has perceived as our land," she said.
With home building halting, that threat has diminished, Leighton said.
"I think the feeling from the county is that there was some error in judgment in Antioch, Brentwood and Oakley, so they see us as the perfect opportunity to take advantage of open space," Leighton, 60, said.
Piepho, a Discovery Bay resident whose husband is director of the Discovery Bay Community Services District, said Byron is "a very small community with limited potential."
Piepho said little infrastructure in the unincorporated community caused residents to rely on wells and an antiquated wastewater treatment facility that can't allow any more hookups. It will cost $2.3 million to build a new plant, a hard pill to swallow for fewer than 1,000 residents.
Nearby Discovery Bay has a modern sewer and water system that allowed growth, but past disagreements seem to make it impossible for the neighbors to work together.
Although some development could be possible near the Byron Airport, Piepho is pessimistic about the narrow line of buildings that make up Byron's downtown changing. Growth restrictions passed by a countywide vote have limited development and the urban limit line, she said.
Byron is the end of the proposed eBART line, a 24-mile $394 million rail line that follows Highway 4, for 2010. However, because of high costs and outdated estimates, the price is likely to be more than $1.3 billion. After cutting the project into two phases with the Oakley-Byron segment second, Byron still may get a stop on the line after 2010.
Rural living
Because Byron is unincorporated, it has few services and amenities. There are no fire hydrants, so several fires have destroyed the town's oldest buildings, and the town relies on the county for all public safety.
The nearest grocery stores and big-box retailers are in Brentwood, and the town's main drag, Highway 4, can alternate from speedway to traffic jam depending on the time of the commute.
And there will be a commute for most new residents. The average commute for Byron residents is about 30 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Housing stock
Housing stock is mostly older farmhouses with clapboard homes and small yards near downtown, as well as larger parcels with custom homes on the outskirts of Byron.
Richard Pontes, a real estate broker and owner of Realty World Delta Country for the past 20 years in Byron, said he makes most of his money selling homes outside town because of the low turnover.
"It's kind of a limited market," he said. "There's not a lot happening."
Pontes said that most people who come into his office are looking for an acre parcel with a house and are shocked to find the price is $650,000.
"They find out it's not cheap here anymore and it's difficult to find small parcels," he said. "There are $1.5 million homes going up on 5-acre parcels."
In a recent look at homes for sale, the least-expensive home was a 1,664-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home on 0.17 of an acre for $419,000. The highest price was $2.1 million for a 3,811-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bath, three-story home on 35.54 acres.
Report card
Students in Byron attend public school in the Byron Union School District. On the Academic Performance Index Growth Report, students at Discovery Bay Elementary scored 767 and Timber Point Elementary scored 800 out of 1,000 points. Excelsior Middle School scored 739. Students attend high school at Liberty Union in Brentwood, where students scored 718.
Story Sources: Byron Union School District, state Department of Education, Realtor.com, Realty World Delta County and the U.S. Census Bureau
Barbara E. Hernandez covers real estate. Reach her at 925-952-5063 or bhernandez@cctimes.com.
HOME VALUES
1990 . . . $310,000
1995 . . . $254,000
2000 . . . $327,250
2005 . . . $610,000
2006 . . . $710,000
Source: DataQuick Information Systems, median sale price of detached, resale homes.
Some comments posted below may be reviewed before they are displayed, including submissions with hyperlinks
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